As of September 1, 2011, ALL 1,875 retail establishments are prohibited from providing light-weight, single-use plastic carryout bags to customers at the point of sale. MORE

By Lookout Staff

September 1, 2011 -- Don't forget – Thursday's the first day of the ban on plastic bags here in Santa Monica.

If you don't remember to bring your own bags – and there are a lot of classy canvas styles out there – you'll have to pay ten cents for every paper bag you ask for at the grocery store.

“I look forward to the day when plastic bags stop swirling around our feet in the waves and no longer mar our beaches or kill marine life,” said Assemblymember Julia Brownley, who tried to get the bags banned statewide with her bill AB 1998, which was supported by Heal The Bay, the California Coastal Coalition and the Sierra Club of California, among others.

“The American Chemistry Council thought it could kill this movement last year, but since then, six cities and counties have passed their own bans and a seventh won a legal ruling to proceed with its bag ordinance,” said Brownley.

She plans to try again at the statewide level with an amended bill. In the meantime, she's travelled California, trying to get local governments to pass their own bag bans, Brownley's Press Secretary Linda Rapattoni told The Lookout Wednesday.

Los Angeles County, Santa Clara County, and the cities of Long Beach, San Jose and Calabasas joined Santa Monica last year in outlawing the use of the bags.

The ban only applies to plastic bags that are less than 2.25 millimeters thick, such as those typically given out by grocers and pharmacies which are intended for one-time use.

Markets will be allowed to offer paper bags made from recycled content for a minimum fee of 10 cents per bag – money which will be kept by the stores to offset expenses.

But the main purpose of the fee is to create a disincentive for using the disposable bags. Instead, the new ordinance is intended to encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable bags to the store
Not included in the ban are light weight “product bags”, such as those found in grocer’s produce sections. Heavier plastic bags commonly used by retail shops are also not included.

Also exempt from the ban are carry-out food business, since hot liquid seeping through a paper bag could cause injuries.